Dreams
by StarlightKat
Summary: Awashima has constant nightmares and hallucinations and it's driving her insane. No pairings intended but can be seen as Awashima/Munakata if you squint.


"No..." Awashima whispered in disbelief as she stared at the mangled bodies of everyone in the special force unit. Each of them twisted beyond recognition as they lay there in their pool of blood. Rushing to one, Awashima kneeled down and took the face of what seemed to be Akiyama in her palms. One eye was missing and a deep gash splayed across his face. Awashima's whole body shook taking in the situation. She didn't know how all this happened and where the captain was. When she first opened her eyes, she was surrounded by darkness being by herself but then moments later one by one her subordinates were dropping to the ground like rain as they came from above.

Still holding Akiyama's head, she resisted the urge to vomit. Shakily placing his head back on the ground she slowly stood up. She knew what she was in but it didn't stop her from being completely horrified at the sight. She clenched her fists and closed her eyes, wishing for the moment to pass.

"So you're still alive," came a familiar voice behind her. Turning around she saw Fushimi, covered in blood with his sword in hand.

"F-Fushimi?" She spoke slowly, careful not letting her voice waiver, as there was a painful lump in her throat.

Fushimi smirked and Awashima took notice of the dangerous glint in his eyes. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Fushimi-kun what happened here?" She asked ignoring his question. Swallowing which was probably the hardest she ever tried to swallow she continued, "D-Did you...?"

The response she received was quiet laughter as she watched him bend over holding his stomach with one arm. "What do you think?" he teased. His smile grew wider seeing the lieutenants eyes grow wide. "It was pretty fun playing with these guys but too bad they couldn't hold up." Raising his stained sword he continued, "Now that you're here I might be able to enjoy myself a little longer."

Without warning Fushimi dashed towards her. Without having her sword nor any other weapons, the only quick reaction she could do was to hold her arms out shielding herself. When she didn't feel any pain she slowly opened her eyes and lowered her arms only to find the third in command not there anymore.

"Guess who?"

She recognized that voice behind her. That low and soothing voice only belonged to one person. Feeling relief as that person was with her she turned around. "Capt-"

She stopped herself, as it wasn't Munakata but Fushimi. "Wrong," she heard him say before he shoved the blade into her left eye.

"AH!" Awashima let out a blood-curdling scream as she sat up. She immediately brought a hand to her left eye and sighed in relief as it was still there. Looking at the clock on her dresser she noticed she woke up an hour before her alarm went off. Calming her heart rate down and her shaking body she slipped out of bed and went to her closet to fetch her uniform. She knew she couldn't go back to sleep and she didn't want to either. She decided to drink a large amount of coffee to keep herself awake as usual.

Locking her room, she exited out the women's dorm and into the chilly morning heading to Scepter 4's headquarters. She was surprised and grateful that her scream hadn't woken anyone up. She would find it embarrassing having to explain to someone that it was just a nightmare... _another nightmare_. She stopped her tracks at the thought. It has been three weeks that she's been having nightmares every time she slept. It always involved the people she cared about like her subordinates and captain in Scepter 4 to her family. ys involed the people She didn't know the cause of it and it was starting to drive her insane. One time Fushimi pointed out the bags under her eyes but she dismissed it, keeping the reason a secret that is was from staying up one whole night to avoid having another nightmare. At first, she thought nothing of it since everyone has nightmares from time to time but after four days in a row of it, she knew something was amiss. It wasn't just nightmares that plagued her mind but rarely she saw hallucinations. Probably from the lack of sleep, but that didn't stop it from making her miserable. She thought of seeking for help but decided against it because the last thing she wanted is for someone to worry over her. She'll just sleep little as possible while being more reliable on coffee and hope that these vivid and disturbing nightmares will stop soon.

Walking into the main workroom the first and only person she noticed was Fushimi. She was suddenly hesitant to approach him as the nightmare from earlier was still fresh in her mind. _It was just a nightmare, it isn't real_ she thought to herself. Shaking her head she took a deep breath and exhaled it to prepare for whatever words he'll throw at her before walking up to him. "Fushimi-kun," she spoke with authority, "Have you been staying up the whole night finishing the reports again?" The answer was obvious as the table littered with coffee cans and a box of calorie bars.

Fushimi clicked his tongue in irritation. "So? What does it matter if I have to stay up late? Aren't you satisfied enough that I'm finishing these?" Not once did he look up from his computer screen nor did he stop his typing.

Awashima sighed, "I'll be satisfied even if you didn't finish as long as you get some rest."

"What about you?"

"What?" she stared at her subordinate in confusion.

Fushimi clicked his tongue again and finally stopped his typing, tearing his gaze from his computer to look at her. "You look like you haven't slept well in days. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You look terrible."

Awashima looked at him in surprise for a second but quickly fixed it by giving him a reassuring smile. "I'm just a little stressed, that's all," she lied.

"Tch," was his only response before resuming back to his computer and typing away. Awashima merely gave him a tired smile before shifting her gaze down towards the cans of coffee. Of course, most were empty as they were all open but there was one left that hadn't been open yet. Fushimi seemed to have noticed it and he spoke, "Take it."

Surprised once again Awashima asked, "Are you sure?"

Fushimi shrugged, "I had enough so take it if you want, just don't let the captain see the state you're in."

"Thank you Fushimi-kun," Awashima smiled. She knew Fushimi was a difficult person to get along with yet alone understand and he talked in a way that made most people angry but there were rare times when he would show his concern to others despite it shown in an unusual way. She definitely wasn't going to comment on it as he would get irritated by it and take the offer back. She took the can and leisurely walked to the window to watch the sun breaking out of the horizon and beginning to rise. Taking a few sips of coffee, she felt relaxed in peaceful moments like these. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this calm as her continuous nightmares always left her in a restless and uneasy state. For once, she actually felt like she was ready to work. She refused to let these nightmares bother her any longer.

Only what she saw outside made her stiffen. Outside the window she saw a figure standing there, she couldn't identify the person as it wore a cloak with the hood over their head. She noticed the person held a sword, one of Scepter 4's swords, and it had the same bloodstains as the sword Fushimi was holding in her dream. She squinted trying to identify the face but it proved useless. Another hallucination maybe? Those usually consisted of an unknown person within her watch standing there watching and random areas of blood. She rubbed her eyes and blinked harshly before looking back again. The figure was still there. _I have to report this,_ as soon as she thought that the figure suddenly jumped upward and forward flying right to her window on the second floor.

Awashima gasped and took a step back but lost her footing and fell back on the floor. Ignoring Fushimi's call, she regained her thought and looked up to see no one but only the sun slightly higher and more yellow, as if asking to notice. _W-Wha...?_

"Lieutenant?"

Awashima whipped her head sideways to see Fushimi kneeling next to her. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and a hand slightly forward, as if confused what to do. She sighed, realizing it was just another hallucination, and quickly stood up and patted her uniform off any dust and wrinkles. "It's nothing," she answered.

Fushimi's confusion turned into irritation once again. "Tch, it's not _nothing_. You saw something out there that gave you such a horrified reaction." Standing up he walked towards the window and eyed the area for anything suspicious. "Tch..."

Awashima took this sign as a victory. "Like I said Fushimi-kun, it was nothing." Before either one could say anything footsteps were quickly filled into the room and turning their heads they saw the special unit enter.

"Domyoji please stop complaining..." Akiyama pleaded, tired of youngster whining about not getting enough sleep. Only when noticing his two superiors in the room he straightened up, "Ah, Lieutenant, Fushimi-kun, good morning."

"Good morning Akiyama-kun, everyone else." Awashima replied as Akiyama walked up to her.

"Before coming here, captain ordered us to head to the Yamato building as there was an incident that took place yesterday. Apparently the strain from three weeks ago that escaped from Hidaka and Benzai caused another scene...and the reports from the finders said it didn't look so pretty..." Akiyama's voiced trailed off into a somber tone and Awashima automatically knew how grave the situation was.

She sighed, "Very well, everyone be prepared as the strain may be lurking around in the building." She prepared to leave the headquarters to head to the scene but remained in her spot and looked at Akiyama. "How...How is your-" _eye?_ she wanted to ask but stopped herself.

Her subordinate gave her a bewildered look. "Sorry, but how is my what?"

Awashima quickly shook her head. "It's nothing, just ready your weapons and head out." Before anyone could question her, she briskly walked out of the room.

"Oh god..." Domyoji whispered, "How could someone do something like this."

"Not just someone, a strain that finds sick enjoyment murdering people," Benzai answered calmly, though there was a hint of disgust.

Sprawled on the first floor of the building were seven bodies, mangled and lacerated in their small lakes of dark blood. Awashima internally shivered at the sight. _Just like that dream- no!_ She had no time to think over her dream from earlier. This was a real life case that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible. "Hidaka, Kamo, gather the other members waiting outside to help clear the bodies. Enomoto check the surveillance cameras for any clues and the rest of you scout the upper levels for anything suspicious," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" her subordinates all shouted in unison before dispersing. Awashima sighed. She should probably go back outside to seek her captain.

"As always you give out the right orders, Awashima-kun." Quickly turning around, she saw Munakata standing there, straight posture as always while adjusting his glasses.

"Captain," she acknowledged, "I was just doing what was necessary." She watched her captain take a few long strides to stand next to her to examine the bodies. Turning back around she continued, "What are your next orders for catching this strain?"

"It seems that when I spoke to Fushimi-kun earlier at the van he already located the strain. He's not in this building anymore but he's still close by but in hiding. He's east, hiding in the closest alleyway."

Already knowing what she had to do she was about to say her usual 'yes sir' but halted as something caught her eye. Her eyes grew wide as she saw one of the corpses shift and began to rise up. Bewildered and slightly alarmed she called out, "Ca-captain he..." she trailed off at seeing the man's face.

She immediately drew her saber out and pointed at him. "Halt!" she ordered, ignoring how her weapon was shaking in her hand. _This man is dead yet moving...perhaps being controlled by the strain?_ She thought. That was most likely the case because the corpse didn't listen and stalked towards her before dashing in a split second catching her off guard. Gasping she managed to dodge the lifeless man's hands and tried to slash him but missed as he swiftly moved to the side coming at her again. "I said halt!" she ordered once again but this time her voice waivered. The fact that she was fighting someone that barely looked like a human anymore was making her feel uneasy. It reminded her of all the dead people in her nightmares, her comrades and family, and it was starting to make her panic.

"St-stop!" trying again, but now it was as if she was begging. She managed to take control in the fight and continued attacking but wasn't even able to land one blow as the man kept dodging.

"Awashima-kun," she heard her captain's voice but quickly glancing around she saw no one except the corpse she was fighting and the other six bodies still sprawled out on the floor. It seemed that taking her eyes away for a quick second was enough for the man to grab a hold of her arms, how it was done as his fingers were all twisted she didn't know, but he prevented her from getting out of it.

"Release me!" she seethed. Somehow, her saber fell out of her grip as it was now lying on the ground.

"Awashima-kun"

She heard Munakata's voice again but she still couldn't see him or any other Scepter 4 member. If they had suddenly just vanished but could still hear her captain's voice then this must be a-.

"Suffer..." she heard the corpse speak, its voice raspy.

"Let go," Awashima repeated knowing that it was futile. She squirmed as much as she could but it proved to no avail. "I said let-" she was cut off as the man's hands grabbed her neck and squeezed it, suffocating her.

"Suffer..." he repeated as he squeezed her neck harder.

Awashima clawed at his hands, desperate to release her neck as it was making her choke and felt blood rushing to her head. "Please..." she cried out hoarsely. The sudden pain in her head was making her lose her strength to fight back.

"Awashima-kun!" this time Munakata's voice was louder but it didn't matter as she still didn't see him.

"Suffer suffer suffer suffer!" now the corpse was screaming in front of her face and Awashima could do nothing but scream. With the addition of the man's distorted face made her break out in tears. She couldn't take it anymore. If this was just another nightmare or hallucination then she wants it to stop because she's truly terrified now.

She whimpered from feeling as if her head might explode any moment. _Am I going to die?_ She thought faintly. She felt sure of it as the corpse released one of his hands from her neck, only to reach toward her face. She shut her eyes waiting for the final blow. She figured he would claw her face or gouge her eyes out but instead she felt a stinging slap to her cheek as the sharp sound ringed in her ears.

It was definitely not what she expected but she slowly opened her eyes, and instead of seeing the distorted face of a moving corpse she saw her captain. Munakata's hands were on her shoulder as he stared down at her. For a man whose face was usually expressionless, Awashima could see a hint of concern in those violet eyes.

Realization hit her fast as she realized her situation. _It...It was just another..._ relief had also came crashing down on her as her knees gave out from under her. Munakata grabbed the sides of her arms but slowly led her to sit and rest on the ground and kneeled down in front of her. She didn't even realize her ragged wheezing until the stiff quietness in the building made her breaths the only loud sound that could be heard.

Awashima unconsciously gripped her captain's uniform on his chest so hard her knuckles turned white. She didn't care about the weak and vulnerable state she was in, she had enough. She clenched her teeth and as she buried her face in Munakata's chest, she felt his hands rub small circles on her back. Breathing in his familiar scent and the soothing rubs on her back, she started relaxing. Still shaking, but she felt safe knowing that what had just happened wasn't real.

"Awashima-kun," Munakata spoke again, but this time she could see him. "Can you stand up?"

Awashima said nothing and instead tried doing it. She shifted her legs to put her feet flat on the ground but as she tried to move up with her captain as support she merely got up a few inches before falling back down. It seemed that her shaking legs refused to let her stand up.

Munakata remained quiet as he surprised her by leaving his one hand on her back but put his other hand behind her knees and lifted her up without any struggle. Awashima let herself be carried out the building, ignoring all the stares from the other Scepter 4 members.

The sun was no longer visible and instead the moon gave the natural lighting. How long had they been at this building? She didn't bother trying to figure that out because her mind was still fuzzy and shaken up. She felt so relaxed that she had the sudden urge to fall asleep in her captain's arms, but knowing that she would have another nightmare kept her from doing it. She just kept her sight above them, staring mindlessly into the sky.

"Awashima-kun"

Flinching from his unexpected call, she turned her attention to him. "Yes sir?" she was amazed that after all that she could talk normally.

"I assume this isn't the first time?" she was grateful that he kept his eyes ahead of him because the last thing she wants is for him to look at how her expression twisted into pain and guilt.

Awashima turned her head to stare at the vans they were approaching. "No sir..."

"How long?" was his next question.

"..." Awashima didn't answer. This was a personal problem for her and any personal problem of hers was a problem she didn't want anyone she cared for, especially her captain, to be involved in. As her eyes kept focus on the vans, she didn't notice the quick glance of Munakata's eyes.

"You drew your sword at me," he stated. Awashima whipped her head in both horror and confusion but Munakata continued before she could speak. "You even tried attacking me, but in your eyes you were attacking someone else since you didn't hear my calls. Soon you stopped and dropped your sword, and started choking yourself after that."

"I-,"Awashima choked out. What had she done? During her hallucination, the corpse she attacked was Munakata? She tensed at the realization, which Munakata noticed and continued.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. What you saw wasn't me but someone else." Awashima nodded her head but she felt no reassurance.

They reached one of Scepter 4's vans and upon reaching it the back door swung open and she saw Fushimi step out, his face neutral as usual, but formed into shock seeing his lieutenant in his captain's arms.

"Lieutenant?" Fushimi knew something was wrong with her but he didn't expect it to be so serious that she needed to be carried.

"Fushimi-kun," Munakata called for his attention. "Go inside the building and help clear out the bodies. I know it's not your usual job but I need those bodies cleared out as soon as possible, then after that help Enomoto-kun with the security cameras."

Fushimi clicked his tongue, "I was going to do that anyways because I'm done with my orders inside here." Before heading inside the building, he gave one last glance at Awashima. It wasn't his usual irritated look he usually gave her but more of a softer look, perhaps concern she thought, before looking away and striding off.

Munakata continued his walking and they ended up at another van, but this one was different as it was the medical van. Thankfully, the back doors were already open and Munakata eased inside and placed Awashima on the white bed.

"Captain," she meekly called out. She wasn't injured so she didn't understand as to why her captain put her inside the medical van.

Munakata knew the question in her mind and answered, "When you strangled yourself you also clawed at it leaving your neck red with scratches, it needs to be treated."

Awashima confused at the answer reached her hand to feel her neck but Munakata grabbed it. "Don't touch it," he said.

Awashima sighed as she let the blue king treat her neck. She watched his concentrated face as he began dabbing her neck with a wet cloth. Her eyes squinted at the sting from her cuts and realized that the cloth was wet with rubbing alcohol. After gauze was wrapped around her neck Munakata pulled back, she couldn't read his expression and it made her swallow in nervousness.

They were both sitting on the bed and the area was dim as the only light came from the moon outside. Munakata stared at Awashima and she was aware he was waiting for an answer from his question from earlier. But instead of answering she said, "Sir, yes these hallucinations happened more than once before but I assure you that it shouldn't be something you should worry about. As for earlier, I apologize for losing myself and accidentally charging at you. I know what I saw but..." she trailed off and broke eye contact, hesitating if she should really be saying this.

"Awashima-kun," Munakata broke in, "I have every right to be worried about this. You haven't been acting yourself lately and I want to know the reason why."

Awashima bit her lip. She shouldn't be telling this to her captain. It didn't have anything to do with Scepter 4, or at least that's what she thought, so why was he asking.

It was as if Munakata read her like a book because what he said was something she never expected her captain to say, "I want to help you not only as a captain who is looking out for his subordinate, but also as a friend whom I care about. So please..."

She suddenly felt guilty for trying to wave it off because looking at Munakata she saw how his expression turned into a look of concern, a look that she never wanted him to have, especially if she was the cause of it. She took a deep breath and sighed, probably the shakiest sigh she had ever done in her life, and gave in.

"Three weeks," she started, "For three weeks straight I've been having nightmares every night and sometimes I would have hallucinations throughout the day. It only started with nightmares and I thought nothing of it since everyone has it from time to time, but I became suspicious when they didn't stop after a few days and I knew something was wrong with me the moment I started seeing eerie things as I worked." The whole time she explained it she did not meet Munakata's eyes once but now looking up at him she noticed how his eyes became narrower and his brows slightly furrowed.

"I see, and do you have any thoughts on what could have caused this?" he asked.

Awashima shook her head. She really had no clue. "It's unfortunate that I have no leads with what caused all this horror for me but I just want it to stop." She gripped the fabric of her skirt uniform. "I know it sounds weak and pathetic of me but..." _Oh great_ she thought. She was showing weakness during duty. She gripped her skirt tighter because her weakness showed in front of Munakata of all people. "To tell you the truth I don't think I can continue on like this any longer."

By now, her knuckles were white and her whole body shivered once again. _Pathetic...to think a lieutenant could show such fear in front of her boss._ She was so focused in berating herself she didn't even notice a hand reach out to her face. She flinched when that hand gently wiped under her eye. She immediately touched under her other eye and felt liquid. Had she been crying? She looked up to see Munakata's face, whose face showed the most worried emotion she's ever seen from him that she now she regretted revealing all this. She was about to say to just forget all about what she said but Munakata beat her to it.

"I promise you that I will find out what's causing all this trouble for you," he spoke, and it sounded so sincere that she felt safe for once in a long time. "And once I find out I will fix it so you'll be free from hallucinations and be able to have blissful dreams again. But for now," he frowned as if he wasn't alright with what he was going to say next, "Is it alright if you deal with a nightmare for just one more night?"

Awashima hesitated. The thought of sleeping was suddenly the most frightening thing she ever thought of doing. She meant it when she said she couldn't take it any longer, but the sincerity in his voice and that determined look on his face was what made her nod her head.

Munakata gave her a small smile and retracted his hand from her face. "I'm sorry for having you deal with this hell for one more night."

Awashima shook her head. She wanted to say that it was all right but she feared her voice would crack; she didn't want to damage her pride any further.

"Try to get some rest," Munakata said before he got up. He gave her one last reassuring look before exiting out the van and closing its doors.

Swinging her legs onto the bed, she leaned back until her back rested on top the mattress. Now that she was, alone she debated of actually going to bed or not. It wasn't like she would be feeling refreshed tomorrow morning anyways. However, coming to that idea made her chest tighten, because Munakata actually believed that she was going to try to get some rest. She just made a promise with him and breaking that promise was like quitting Scepter 4. Shifting to lie on her side, she closed her eyes. _Just one more night,_ somehow the thought of that made her relax into the mattress. She trusted Munakata's words so she figured to go through with it for what she hoped was the last time and with that thought, for the first time in three weeks, she drifted off into sleep in peace.

The first thing Awashima saw when she opened her eyes was her captain some meters away in front of her, the area around them black just like last night's dream. His back was facing her and high above him was his Sword of Damocles but Awashima gasped at the sight of it. Munakata's Sword of Damocles was practically shattered in pieces and it was shaking as a threat it would fall down any second.

"Captain!" she called out to him instead of heading towards him. Anything could happen so she had to be on alert. It seemed Munakata heard her voice because he turned around to face her and the state he was in made her mouth agape. One of his arms wrapped around his bleeding stomach and blood leaked out from his mouth and ran down his chin. His glasses were missing from his face but the pained look on him was enough for Awashima to take a step towards him.

"Ca-captain?" _This isn't real_ she told herself, but she had the sudden urge to run up to him. She had never seen her captain in this kind of state ever and it made her want to reach out to him and help. Telling herself that all of this wasn't real was enough to keep her from taking another step.

"Lieutenant!" She whipped around to see her subordinates of the special unit lying meters away from her. They all lied there limp except for person who was Hidaka, he was lying on his stomach but his arms kept his upper body off the ground. He must've been in extreme pain because he was having difficulty keeping himself and the way one of his eyes were closed and his teeth gritting proved so otherwise.

"Lieutenant!" he choked out again, "Do it! Do it before it falls and kills all of us!"

"Before..." Awashima trailed off and turned back around to see Munakata's Sword of Damocles still barely hanging in the air. _I have to kill the captain._ Her fists clenched at the thought. She knew that there would be a day that she would have to slay her own king but in this situation, she rethought that order. _It's not real._ Since this was just another nightmare letting Munakata's sword fall would only kill them here, not in reality. She decided on that option until she saw the sword beginning to fall down.

"Lieutenant!" Hidaka cried.

Her heart felt like it would explode from adrenaline. _It's not real!_ She screamed internally at herself, but this all looked and felt all too real for her. She heard Hidaka's cries in the background and focusing her eyes on her captain's face she could see how he was faintly smiling at her, as if encouraging her to do it. Breathing deeply she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. _It's not real it's not real it's not-_ but no matter how many times she told herself that it didn't stop her from sprinting forwards and thrust her sword out, a sword she didn't even realize was in her hand, and stabbed through Munakata's chest.

The Sword of Damocles came to an abrupt stop a foot above their heads before completely disappearing, leaving some blue aura to float down around them. She felt Munakata slump forward and rest his forehead on her left shoulder.

"Ca-captain?" she resisted the urge to cry. She just stabbed her captain in the chest, it may be a dream but there would be another moment like this but real instead.

"Awashima..." Munakata finally spoke making her tense up. It was a whisper and it sounded so weak she automatically regretted what she had done.

"...Yes?"

"Guess who?"

 _Guess who?_ She was confused at Munakta's words. However, she was more confused that the voice didn't sound like her captain. She didn't even have time to react and instead gasped as she felt tremendous pain.

Munakata lifted his forehead off her shoulder and stepped back. Awashima's eyes widened when she didn't find the wound she inflicted on him, not even the wound on his stomach from before. The sword was missing from her hands and when looking down at his arms she saw his hand gripping his sword that skewered through her stomach. As quickly as it had went in Munakata swiftly pulled his sword out. Awashima lost all strength in her legs and fell to the ground. She brought her hands to cover the bleeding wound and looked up in horror.

Munakata still looked the same physically but his expression was never something he ever wore before. Instead of that calm and collected mask of his or that pained smile she saw for the first time, his expression was a sinister glee. His smile showed his teeth and his eyes squinted as he stared down at her.

"Suffer," he said before he turned around and walked away.

Lying on her side, Awashima reached a hand out to him as if she could still try to catch him. "Captain..." She curled inwards as the pain from her wound spread out through her whole body, her body screaming to get it fixed. Blood seeped out at a rapid pace and soon it formed a pool around her as it soaked her uniform and hair. It may be a lucid dream but the pain was immense for her to handle. It felt as if she was actually dying. Her eyelids felt heavy and her vision began to lose focus. She didn't hear Hidaka's cries anymore and she felt alone again. The pain turned to a dull ache and she felt her mind slipping away. Doing one last exhale through her mouth, she closed her eyes.

Awashima didn't know what it was like to die in real life but she had always thought you would feel cold, not warm which was what she felt now. She opened her eyes, expecting to be in the same dark space, but instead she saw light. Opening her eyes wider, she saw objects come into view. She didn't feel that agonizing pain anymore and instead felt her head and back rest against something behind her. When her eyes focused, she realized where she was. She was outside, sitting on the grass and resting against a tree, and those trees she saw in front of her were Cherry blossom trees. She was in a Hanami viewing. In the distance she could see her subordinates standing, they were talking and playing around, truly enjoying themselves. When she felt a cramp in her neck from lifting her head off from the bark, she reached a hand to massage it. Was this another dream?

"Be careful how you sleep next time, Awashima-kun."

That voice sounded close and she jolted upright to see Munakata sitting on his legs, the traditional way of sitting. Was this really another dream of hers? This setting was so abrupt and her last dream was still fresh in her mind. She tensed. She needed to prepare herself for whatever horrors were coming her way again. She sat there stiff and waited for Munakata to make some sort of move to kill her again.

"Why are you so stiff?" he asked.

Should she even answer? Instead of a proper answer she said, "It's nothing sir."

"Hoo?" Awashima could see how Munakata's lips turned upward into a smile. He had been facing the front the whole time but he gave her a side-glance before turning it back in front of him. "If there's something that's ever troubling you I will always lend an ear, but if there's really nothing then you should enjoy this moment as it is a rare event that Scepter 4 can watch together."

Awashima studied his face. Though Munakata had the same neutral expression, he looked as if he was in peace, enjoying the scenery like his subordinates. His eyes had a glint in them, but it wasn't the same glint when he looked down at her after stabbing her, it was more from serenity. She rarely saw him like this and seeing him serene she felt herself relax. She was still alert of everything around her, but watching Hidaka dragging Fushimi who had been resting by a tree like her to join the others in their group, Munakata in his rare peaceful moment, the sunlight warming her skin, and the cherry petals falling gracefully through the wind, she couldn't help but feel safe and at ease. Smiling, she rested against the tree behind her once again. She was tired. However, she didn't mind closing her eyes this time. After watching a petal land softly in her palm that was resting on the grass, she closed her eyes and drifted off into another sleep.

"Hng..." Awashima groaned as she opened her eyes once again. She didn't know how long she had her eyes closed but she was in a different setting again. She was in a dimly lit room and it felt as if she was lying in a bed.

"So you're awake," a lazy voice said. Turning her head to the side, she saw a figure sitting in a chair by the door. The figure was sharpening their knives and she automatically knew whom it was.

"Fushimi-kun...?" Her mouth felt dry for some reason.

Fushimi halted in his work and looked up at her. "You're in the infirmary at Scepter 4," he stated before going back to cleaning his knives.

Groaning again, she lifted her upper body up into a sitting position. Her body felt stiff and when getting up she popped a few of her bones. _How long was I asleep?_ She thought.

Fushimi seemed to notice what was on her mind and answered, "You've been sleeping the whole night ever since you fell asleep in the medical van. It's almost seven in the morning." Stopping his work again, Fushimi looked back up to study Awashima's face. "You don't have bags under your eyes for once. When was the last time you had a decent sleep anyways?"

Awashima would've answered his question but Fushimi clicked his tongue and continued. "If you're wondering why I'm here the captain ordered me to stay here and watch over you once we got back to headquarters. Tch, that sly guy didn't think I needed sleep or something."

Awashima remained quiet before answering. "I appreciate you watching over me Fushimi-kun, but it was alright for you to sleep in here as well, I caught you sleeping in chairs before." When Fushimi didn't answer she smiled.

 _And thank you for your concern_ she thought. Swinging her legs over the bed she asked, "Where's the captain?"

"He's in his office, doing his usual paperwork." With another click of his tongue, he collected his knives and stood up, "Since my task of watching over you until you woke up is over I'll be heading back to the dorms, he gave everyone the day off."

"Captain?"

Fushimi grunted in answer and opened the door but before leaving the room he turned back to face her. "...It's not any of my business nor do I care but I think you should go thank him. He's the reason why you slept like a baby after all, though that was later on." Seeing his lieutenant's bewildered look made him click his tongue again. "When we arrived back here and were in the process of moving you, you were breathing harshly and sweating. He told us about your situation and said to leave you be."

Awashima nodded, "Thank you for informing me...and sorry for letting you see me in such a state..."

Fushimi laughed, "You shouldn't be apologizing but more of the idiot strain should be."

That caught her attention, "What strain?"

"Oh you know the stain from three weeks ago that escaped from Hidaka and Benzai and later on from you? Yeah well just before escaping he put a curse on you," Fushimi said it as if that was the most casual thing to say.

Awashima squinted her eyes at him. Nightmares and hallucinations for three weeks, acase three weeks ago of a strain that managed to escape, the strain that stared at her with glowing eyes and muttered the word 'suffer'.

" _Halt!" Awashima ordered at the strain she and a few others were chasing._

 _The strain merely snickered as he ended up trapped in an alleyway. "Alright missy I stopped, now what?"_

 _Awashima ignored his comment and spoke, "For robbing a bank and murdering all the civilians inside you are under arrest." She pointed her saber at him, "If you show any more resistance Scepter 4 has the right to use brute force."_

 _The strain showed no signs of anger or fear as he looked at his watch. "Sorry missy I'm on a tight schedule. I don't have time to play with the government." He looked up behind him and Awashima immediately knew what he planned to do._

" _We won't let you jump over that wall!" Without any warning, she fired with her saber two arrow slashes of her blue aura at him._

" _Whoa!" The strain moved to avoid the attack and during that time, Awashima fired another two at him. He dodged the first two but the second two caught him off guard. He managed to dodge the third one but the last one was too fast for him to dodge it completely. Barely moving his head to avoid from being decapitated the sharp blue aura slashed the side of his cheek._

" _Argh!" He seethed in pain as blood flowed out. "You...you bitch!"_

" _Stand down!" Awashima ordered again, she was no longer going to play any of his games again._

 _The strain glared daggers at her as he reached into the pocket of his jacket. "You know I was going to let you blues off the hook today since I completed what I had to do, but now I don't think I will."_

" _What are you-" Awashima was cut off when the strain pulled out an explosive. Using her quick reflexes, she barely managed to put her aura out as a shield in front of her and her subordinates, but the shield wasn't in its full effect within the time given and the explosion broke through it making her and the others fall backwards._

 _Hissing in pain from the force knocking her to the group she looked up. Through the smoke, she could hardly see the strain, but she didn't have trouble finding him because his eyes glowed through it. It was red and bright, yet cold and harsh, as if he had the intent to kill her. She felt shivers run through her body when she heard him whisper 'suffer', but before she could do anything the strain stepped back and jumped over the wall disappearing from them._

 _Dammit, she thought. She coughed from the smoke but it eventually dispersed and cleared out. She along with the others got up before hearing footsteps into the alleyway._

" _Lieutenant!" It was Akiyama as she saw him and Fushimi approach them. "We heard an explosion and..." he trailed off as he saw the anger on her face._

" _He escaped," was all she said._

" _Tch! We should go after him then," Fushimi snapped. He walked past her about to jump over the wall but a hand gripped his arm._

 _Awashima didn't know what made her grab at him but seeing Fushimi's irritated and confused stare made her released him. "Let's go report back," she said. "It's pointless to just search for him when we have no more leads." She ignored Fushimi's tongue click and turned to leave the alleyway. Thinking back to the strain, she never saw his eyes glow like that. Scepter 4 wasn't exactly aware of his powers except being able to have people attack each other. Other than that, he was still a mystery. She stopped walking when she noticed that she stepped in a small pool of blood. Probably from that strain's cheek, she thought. She lost interest in it and continued walking to report to Munakata. Had she stopped where the blood was at, she would've realized that it wasn't in the alleyway where she had attacked him._

It was as if she solved the biggest mystery in her life and clicking the pieces together, she jumped out of bed startling the third in command.

"Where is that strain?" she demanded.

Fushimi smirked, "So you want to beat him up huh? Well too bad because the captain already dealt with him."

"You guys managed to catch him?"

"Yes but just the captain. After he left you in the van he told us he would go into the alleyway I located him alone. Of course, I followed because when he said he sounded pissed. He caught that stain rather easily. I expected him to hand cuff him right there but," Fushimi's smirk grew wider, as if he was going to enjoy what he was about to say next. "Honestly you should've seen what the captain did. He gave out boring questions as usual but he did not go easy on that strain."

Awashima's curiosity grew. If Munakata hadn't done things how he normally did then that strain must have pushed it.

"He asked why he made you miserable and of course that strain just found some sick amusement in that. He didn't laugh long though when the captain snapped one of his arms." Fushimi laughed at remembering the strain cry out in pain and started begging for mercy. "Well in the end captain made him release his curse off of you and is now in custody."

Fushimi turned back to the open door and said, "I stayed longer than I should have so I'm leaving." He left without a reply from her and left the door open.

Awashima stood there, thinking over everything Fushimi said. The curse is broken and Munakata had kept his promise. She definitely had to thank him. It was good that she was still in her uniform because she walked out the room and straight towards his office.

After knocking on Munakata's door, she entered. "Captain I-" she stopped herself when she saw him working on another puzzle, a puzzle that had that strain's face crying on it.

Munakata paused in his game and looked up at her. "Good morning Awashima-kun. Why are you still in your uniform? Did Fushimi-kun not inform you that everyone had the day off?"

"Ah, good morning sir, Fushimi-kun did inform me. It's just that I came straight here after getting out of bed." If she looked in the mirror she would probably realized what a mess she was. However, what she wanted to say was more important. "The reason I came here is because I wanted to thank you."

"Hoo? I will always help any of my clansmen when they are being tortured," he stated.

 _But you saved me from going on the brink of insanity_ was what she wanted to say but didn't. Instead, she said, "How did you know about that strain being the one that put that curse on me?"

"Hmm," Munakata paused, "I had my suspicions back during the first time we tried to catch that strain. It was when you reported to me. You said you had lost them but you also said about how his eyes glowed. Since people's eyes don't normally glow I figured he was using his powers then, it's just that I wasn't sure what exactly he did. A week after that I noticed how lethargic you looked but I waived it off because everyone has their reasons for being tired. It was only when yesterday you experienced a hallucination and knowing the truth of the constant nightmares that started three weeks ago did I realize that the strain must have been the cause of them. It was convenient that he was the cause of yesterday's case and that Fushimi found his location that I caught him right after leaving you. After a bit of interrogation I got him to release his curse."

 _Interrogation..._ Awashima repeated the word in her mind. The thought of seeing her captain break a man's arm made her shiver.

"But," Munakata continued, "Even though the cure was released, it seemed you were still stuck in your nightmare."

"I think I had to finish it," she answered.

"Maybe, though nightmares will still happen throughout life, you won't be having one anytime soon and those hallucinations will never appear again," he reassured.

Awashima sighed. She was finally free from this hell and it made her want to hug her captain, but knowing where they both stand she gave him a smile, to let him know how truly grateful she was. With a few seconds of silence she figured to dismiss herself but drifting her gaze to Munakata's sword on display on the wall kept her standing still.

Munakata caught her attention on his sword and asked, "Was my sword involved in your dream?"

His question caught her off guard as she quickly looked back at him as if she never looked at the sword in the first place. She hesitated at first but remembering that she was free she answered, "Yes, and you stabbed me with it."

She noticed how Munakata's lips tightened into a thin line, "Ah, well I apologize that you had a nightmare such as that."

Awashima shook her head, "No need, I'm just glad that all of this is over." She half turned and took a step towards the door. "I will be leaving to do my plans, thank you for allowing a day off for everyone."

"Actually Awashima-kun you'll be having three days off."

"Th-three days off?" she repeated staring at her captain bewilderedly. "Sir I appreciate it but I haven't been at my best for a while. I have a lot of catching up to do in my paper work."

"Awashima-kun," Munakata's tone made her flinch, "Mental recovery is more important than paper work. You can go back to it after you catch up on your sleep."

Awashima hesitated but she didn't argue, knowing that Munakata's decision was set. "...Thank you sir." She did a quick bow before leaving his office.

Walking through the corridors of Scepter 4 Awashima noticed sunlight beaming across. She stopped her stride and went up to one of the windows to see the sun just rising over the horizon. Looking out at the scenery her eyes widened. The trees, specifically cherry blossom trees, were in full bloom. Looking from the second floor made it look as if the ground was in a sea of pink. It was that time of year again and Awashima didn't even realize it. She knew the cherry blossoms were reaching its peak and soon they would break away from its branches and fall. Last year many members including Munakata, Fushimi, and herself joined in on the Hanami watch and she was sure Munakata would have another one as he considered it as 'bonding time'.

Awashima smiled, looking at the rustling trees for a few more seconds before turning away and continued walking. She was looking forward to the event. It seemed she'll have to use her three day break to prepare some anko.

* * *

I really like Seri. She's like the most sophisticated female in the show. I just wish there weren't those strange angle shots of her...

If you liked the story please review! This is my very first K fanfic. Also my first fanfic of the 2016 year! Happy New Years! :D


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